Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2 LMS 2011
V8 Vantage GTE – 2012-2015
V8 Vantage GTE refresh – 2016 – 2017
V8 Vantage AMR GTE 2018 – 2023
Teams: Aston Martin Racing, TF Sport, Gulf Racing, Gulf Racing UK, Gulf AMR Middle East, GMB Motorsport, ORT by TF Sport, D’Station Racing, Northwest AMR, Beechdean/AMR, Jota
Le Mans GTE wins
Am 3
Pro 3
WEC GTE champions
2 Pro
2 Am
ELMS
2017 Champions – AMR
Record number of Am wins, 33.
Most WEC poles 27 in Pro
Aston Martin completes the FIA WEC era topping the number of wins in GTE Am with 33, and finished second in the combined wins total to Ferrari with 52.
GTE history for Aston Martin is dominated by the works Aston Martin Racing team, operated by Prodrive, under a variety of names. It is AMR that has scored all of the Pro wins. And TF Sport added further wins in Am to an already impressive total in the class, principally scored by the AMR car built around long-time gentleman driver Paul Dalla Lana.
Away from the FIA WEC, success has been less frequent, with just a single ELMS title in 2017. And with no full-time GTLM presence in IMSA, there are no titles or major endurance race wins to look back on.
However, what Aston Martin achieved as a loyal servant to the FIA WEC since its inception, is remarkable in its own way. AMR constantly punched above its weight, winning two GTE Pro titles, two GTE Am titles, and Le Mans six times, three times in Pro and three in Am.
And along the way, it produced what for many is the defining Le Mans moment in the GTE era, when Jonny Adam successfully caught and passed Jordan Taylor’s Corvette in the dying moments of the 2017 edition. It was a real throwback to the epic Aston Martin vs Corvette GT1 battles!
During its stint in GTE, there were four iterations of the Vantage. Three of them were on the old V8 Vantage platform. The first raced in the inaugural year of the class in grandfathered GT2 form before the new GTE came on stream following AMR’s exit from top-class prototype racing.
The GTE car then got a full re-skin and upgrade in time for 2016 as the bar was raised in the aerodynamic department by Ford and Porsche, before the debut of the brand new Vantage road car which spawned an equally successful GTE version in 2018. Both the EVO Vantage, and the Vantage AMR would win Le Mans and titles, adding to the British brand, and Prodrive’s proud motorsport history.
Unfortunately, amidst the glories, trophies and titles earned through some fabulous racing by Aston Martin, there is sadly a post-script to the history that will never be forgotten. One of its cars in 2013 saw the tragic accident that took the life of Allan Simonsen in the Le Mans 24 Hours.
